JP6051995B2 - Liquid ejecting head and liquid ejecting apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting head including a plurality of unit heads that eject liquid from nozzles, and a liquid ejecting apparatus.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus is an apparatus that includes a liquid ejecting head capable of ejecting liquid as droplets from a nozzle and ejects various liquids from the liquid ejecting head. A typical example of the liquid ejecting apparatus is an ink jet recording that includes an ink jet recording head (hereinafter referred to as a recording head) and performs recording by ejecting liquid ink as ink droplets from the nozzle of the recording head. An image recording apparatus such as an apparatus (printer) can be given. In addition, liquid ejecting devices are used for ejecting various types of liquids such as color materials used for color filters such as liquid crystal displays, organic materials used for organic EL (Electro Luminescence) displays, and electrode materials used for electrode formation. It is used. The recording head for the image recording apparatus ejects liquid ink, and the color material ejecting head for the display manufacturing apparatus ejects solutions of R (Red), G (Green), and B (Blue) color materials. The electrode material ejecting head for the electrode forming apparatus ejects a liquid electrode material, and the bioorganic matter ejecting head for the chip manufacturing apparatus ejects a bioorganic solution.

  In the printer as described above, one recording head is configured by arranging a plurality of head units (line heads) in which a plurality of unit heads for ejecting ink are arranged in a line on a fixing member such as a frame. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). Each unit head introduces ink from an ink supply source such as an ink cartridge into a pressure chamber (pressure generating chamber), and operates pressure generating means such as a piezoelectric element and a heating element to change the pressure in the ink in the pressure chamber. The ink in the pressure chamber is ejected as ink droplets from the nozzles opened in the nozzle surface by using the pressure fluctuation. In the recording head as described above, a plurality of control devices that transmit control signals to the respective pressure generating means are arranged corresponding to the head units.

JP 2006-150593 A

  In recent years, the size of head units has been reduced. Accordingly, the control device corresponding to the head unit is relatively large. For this reason, when the head units are arranged side by side in the frame, and the control devices corresponding to the head units are arranged in parallel along the head units arranged in the same manner on the frame, the entire control devices in the juxtaposition direction are arranged. Is larger than the overall width of the head units arranged side by side in the direction of arrangement. As a result, it has been difficult to reduce the size of the recording head. Although it is possible to prepare the printer head, etc. without mounting the control device on the recording head, it is practical because the wiring of cables etc. that electrically connect each head unit and the control device becomes complicated. Not right.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a liquid ejecting head and a liquid ejecting apparatus that can be downsized.

The present invention has been proposed in order to achieve the above object, and a unit head that ejects liquid from a nozzle formed on a nozzle surface by driving a pressure generating means to cause pressure fluctuation in a pressure chamber. A plurality of head units arranged,
A control device for transmitting a control signal for controlling the driving of the pressure generating means to the head unit side;
A frame for fixing a plurality of the head unit and the control device corresponding to the head unit;
A liquid jet head comprising:
The frame overlaps the head unit fixing portion that juxtaposes the head units with the nozzle surface exposed, and overlaps the head unit fixing portion on the side opposite to the nozzle surface, and in the direction in which the head units are juxtaposed A control device fixing portion that juxtaposes the control devices along,
The control device fixing part is composed of at least two steps.
In the juxtaposed direction, the control devices respectively corresponding to the head units adjacent to each other in the head unit fixing portion are arranged in different step portions in the control device fixing portion.

  According to this configuration, in the juxtaposed direction, the control devices are arranged in parallel even when the width of the control device (thickness in the juxtaposed direction) is wider (thick) than the width of the head unit (thickness in the juxtaposed direction). The overall width of the control device can be made as small as possible to the overall width of the head units arranged in parallel. Thereby, the liquid ejecting head can be reduced in size.

  In the above configuration, it is preferable that the thickness of the control device in the juxtaposed direction is larger than the thickness of the head units in the juxtaposed direction.

In each of the above configurations, the head unit includes a transmission board that transmits the control signal to the pressure generating unit,
The transmission board and the control device are electrically connected by wiring members,
The wiring members are desirably arranged without intersecting each other.

  According to this configuration, the connection of the wiring members is facilitated. For this reason, the work time when exchanging the head unit or the control device for maintenance or the like can be shortened.

Furthermore, in each of the above-described configurations, the control device includes a heat radiating unit that releases heat into the atmosphere,
The control device fixing portion has a through hole at a position corresponding to the heat radiating portion of the bottom surface thereof,
Desirably, a blowing means for sending wind to the control device side through the through hole is arranged facing the through hole.

  According to this structure, a control apparatus can be cooled via a thermal radiation part, and the malfunction by a control apparatus generating heat can be suppressed.

Further, in each of the above-described configurations, the control device fixing portion has a pair of positioning members that can be positioned by sandwiching each control device from both sides in the step direction of the step portion. ,
It is desirable that the through hole is provided at a position facing each of the air blowing means in each positioning member.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to cool the control devices arranged in parallel at the respective step portions.

  According to another aspect of the invention, a liquid ejecting apparatus includes the liquid ejecting head having the above-described configuration.

2A and 2B are schematic diagrams illustrating the configuration of a printer, where FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view in which a part of the recording head is omitted. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the recording head as viewed from the front. It is a perspective view explaining a control apparatus fixing | fixed part. It is a perspective view of a control device. It is a perspective view explaining a head unit fixing | fixed part. It is a perspective view of a head unit. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the head unit with a substrate cover removed. It is the perspective view seen from the nozzle surface side of the head unit. It is a perspective view of a unit head. It is sectional drawing of the principal part of a unit head.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiments described below, various limitations are made as preferred specific examples of the present invention. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following description unless otherwise specified. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. In the following description, an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer) equipped with an ink jet recording head (hereinafter referred to as a recording head), which is a kind of liquid ejecting head, is taken as an example of the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention.

  The configuration of the printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The printer 1 is a device for recording dyeing, images, and the like by ejecting liquid ink onto the surface of a recording medium 2 (a kind of landing target) such as cloth or paper. The printer 1 transports a recording head 3, a carriage 4 to which the recording head 3 is attached, a guide rod 5 that supports the carriage 4, and a recording medium 2 in the sub-scanning direction (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1A). A transport mechanism 6 and the like are provided. The recording medium 2 of the present embodiment is held in a state of being wound around the core 8 in a roll shape. A configuration in which a plurality of recording media are accommodated in a tray provided below the printer 1 and the recording media are conveyed one by one by a conveyance mechanism may be employed.

  The recording medium 2 moves on the platen 9 disposed at a distance from the lower surface (nozzle surface 58, see FIG. 11) of the recording head 3 by driving the transport mechanism 6. The ink is stored in a liquid supply source (not shown) such as an ink cartridge disposed on the main body side of the printer 1 and supplied to the recording head 3 through an ink supply tube. A configuration in which the liquid supply source is mounted on the carriage 4 may be employed.

  The guide rod 5 is installed inside the printer 1 along the main scanning direction orthogonal to the sub-scanning direction. The carriage 4 is reciprocated in the main scanning direction (width direction of the recording medium 2) by a pulse motor (not shown) such as a DC motor while being guided by the guide rod 5. A home position serving as a scanning base point of the carriage 4 is set in an end area outside the recording area within the moving range of the carriage 4 (an area outside the platen 9 in the main scanning direction). The printer 1 is bi-directional between when the carriage 4 moves from the home position toward the opposite end and when the carriage 4 returns from the opposite end to the home position. So-called bidirectional recording is performed in which characters, images, and the like are recorded on the recording medium 2.

  Next, the recording head 3 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the recording head 3 in this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the recording head as viewed from the front. In FIG. 2, a part of the head unit 13, the control device 14, and the flexible cable 44 is omitted. Some of the head units 13 and the control device 14 are pulled out from the fixed position of the frame 15 to the near side.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the recording head of the present embodiment includes a plate-like head unit 13, a plate-like control device 14, and a frame 15 that fixes a plurality of these. The frame 15 overlaps the head unit fixing portion 16 arranged side by side in a state where the head unit 13 is erected, and an upper portion thereof (on the side opposite to the nozzle surface 58 described later with respect to the head unit fixing portion 16). And a control device fixing portion 17 that is arranged in parallel in a state where the control device 14 is erected along the 13 parallel arrangement directions. In the present embodiment, a total of 16 head units 13 can be arranged in parallel on the head unit fixing portion 16, and a total of 16 control devices 14 are arranged in parallel on the control device fixing portion 17 correspondingly. It is configured as possible.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the control device fixing portion 17 constituting the upper portion of the frame 15 includes an upper step portion 19 and a lower step portion 20 that are overlapped (superposed) in two steps in the vertical direction. 19 and 20 are each provided with a control device 14 in parallel. The upper step portion 19 and the lower step portion 20 correspond to the step portion in the present invention. In the present embodiment, eight control devices 14 are arranged in parallel in the upper stage portion 19, and eight control devices 14 are arranged in parallel in the lower step portion 20.

  The bottom surface portion (head unit side) and the top surface portion (opposite side of the head unit) of each step portion 19, 20 are parallel to extend in the parallel arrangement direction of the control device 14 over the width of the control device fixing portion 17. A plurality of positioning members 23 for positioning the control device 14 are installed between the two beam portions 21. Specifically, the control device fixing portion 17 includes two beam portions 21a provided in the lower portion, two beam portions 21b provided in the middle portion above the beam portion 21a, and the beam. And two beam portions 21c provided in the upper portion above the portion 21b. The interval between the lower beam portion 21a and the middle beam portion 21b and the interval between the middle beam portion 21b and the upper beam portion 21c are aligned with the height of the control device 14, respectively. Yes. In addition, the distance between the two beam portions 21a, 21b, and 21c in each part is substantially the same as the length of the control device 14 (the length in the depth direction orthogonal to the parallel arrangement direction of the control devices 14). It is aligned.

  The width of the positioning member 23 (the length in the direction in which the control devices 14 are arranged in parallel) is aligned with the width of the control device 14 (the thickness in the direction in which the control devices 14 are arranged in parallel). This is a plate member whose length in the depth direction perpendicular to the installation direction is aligned with the length of the control device 14. At both ends in the width direction of the positioning member 23, as shown in FIG. 4, there are provided wall portions 23 'erected on the control device 14 side from the bottom surface. Then, on the upper side of the two beam portions 21a provided in the lower portion, a plurality of positioning members 23 are juxtaposed at the same pitch in the width direction in a state where the wall portion 23 'is erected upward. 20 bottom surface portions are formed. Further, by arranging a plurality of positioning members 23 in parallel with the same pitch in the width direction below the two beam portions 21b provided in the middle portion, with the wall portion 23 'standing up below. In addition to constituting the upper surface portion of the lower step portion 20, a plurality of positioning members 23 are arranged above the beam portion 21 b in parallel with the same pitch in the width direction with the wall portion 23 ′ standing upward. The lower surface portion of the portion 19 is configured. Furthermore, a plurality of positioning members 23 are arranged at the same pitch in the width direction below the two beam portions 21c provided in the upper portion with the wall portion 23 'standing downward. The upper surface portion of the portion 19 is configured.

  The positioning members 23 arranged above and below the overlapping direction of the stepped portions 19 and 20 (the overlapping direction of the stepped portions 19 and 20 and the stepped direction of the stepped portions 19 and 20) correspond to the upper and lower pairs, respectively. The position of the control device 14 is determined by sandwiching the device 14 from both sides. That is, the position in the width direction of the control device 14 is determined by the wall portion 23 ′ of the positioning member 23, and the position in the height direction of the control device 14 is determined by the bottom surface of the positioning member 23 located above and below the control device 14. . Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the parallel arrangement pitch of the positioning member 23 arranged in parallel in the upper stage portion 19 and the positioning member 23 arranged in parallel in the lower stage portion 20 is equal to the parallel arrangement pitch P of the head units 13. It is arranged twice (2P). The positioning member 23 arranged in parallel with the upper stage portion 19 and the positioning member 23 arranged in parallel with the lower stage portion 20 are arranged so as to be shifted by the same distance (P) as the parallel arrangement pitch P of the head units 13.

  In the present embodiment, in the above-described parallel arrangement direction, the width of the entire control device 14 arranged in parallel is substantially equal to the width of the entire head unit 13 arranged in parallel. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, in the juxtaposed direction, the positioning member 23 a disposed at one end of the lower step portion 20 is disposed at the one end of the head unit fixing portion 16. The positioning member 23p is disposed immediately above the head unit 13p and is disposed immediately above the head unit 13p disposed at the other end portion of the head unit fixing portion 16. Therefore, in a state where the head unit 13 is fixed to the head unit fixing portion 16 and the control device 14 is fixed to the control device fixing portion 17, the control device 14 corresponding to each head unit 13 includes the upper step portion 19 and the lower step portion. 20 are alternately arranged, and are arranged immediately above the head unit 13, respectively. In other words, in the juxtaposed direction, the control devices 14 respectively corresponding to the head units 13 adjacent in the head unit fixing portion 16 are alternately arranged in the upper step portion 19 and the lower step portion 20 in the control device fixing portion 17.

  Further, a plurality of fans 22 (corresponding to the blowing means in the present invention) are provided below the control device fixing portion 17. Each fan 22 is disposed at a position corresponding to a heat sink 29 of the control device 14 to be described later. As shown in FIG. 4, each positioning member 23 constituting the bottom surface portion of the control device fixing portion 17 is provided with a through hole 24 penetrating in the thickness direction at a position (bottom surface) corresponding to the heat sink 29. ing. Thereby, the fan 22 can send wind to the control device 14 side through the through hole 24, and can cool the heat sink 29. In the present embodiment, the through holes 24 are respectively provided in the positioning members 23 arranged on both sides in the vertical direction of the both step portions 19 and 20. The through hole 24 of each positioning member 23 is provided at a position (bottom surface) facing the fan 22, and is configured such that wind blows upward from below the control device fixing portion 17 through each through hole 24. Thereby, the heat sink 29 of each step part 19 and 20 can be cooled.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the control device 14 fixed to the control device fixing unit 17 outputs a control signal for controlling the driving of the piezoelectric element 65 described later, and transmits these signals to the head unit 13 side. A substrate 25 and a substrate fixing member 26 to which the control substrate 25 is fixed are provided. The control device 14 of the present embodiment is configured such that the width (thickness in the juxtaposed direction) is wider (thicker) than the width of the head unit 13 (for example, the width of the head unit 13 is 30 mm, the control device 14). Width is 50 mm). The control board 25 is a board on which electronic parts such as an IC and a transistor (not shown) are mounted. A connector 27 is disposed on one side end (front end) of the control board 25. The connector 27 is electrically connected to the other end of a flexible cable 44 (corresponding to a wiring member in the present invention) that is electrically connected to a transmission board 38 (described later) of the head unit 13 corresponding to one end.

  Here, since the width of the control device 14 of the present embodiment is wider than the width of the head unit 13, when the control devices 14 are arranged in one stage, the parallel arrangement pitch becomes larger than the parallel arrangement pitch of the head units 13. The flexible cable 44 connected to the control device 14 at the end in the juxtaposed direction is disposed obliquely. However, the control devices 14 in the present embodiment are alternately arranged in the upper step portion 19 and the lower step portion 20, and each control device 14 is arranged immediately above the corresponding head unit 13. 44 can be connected in a direction substantially perpendicular to the nozzle surface 58. As a result, the flexible cables are arranged without crossing each other (in parallel in this embodiment), and the wiring members can be easily connected. For this reason, the work time when exchanging the head unit 13 and the control device 14 for maintenance or the like can be shortened.

  A LAN connector 28 is disposed at the other end (rear end) of the control board 25. One end side of the LAN connector 28 is electrically connected to the other end side of a LAN cable that is electrically connected to a main body control board (not shown) disposed on the housing side of the printer 1. And the control board 25 produces | generates a control signal according to the signal from a main body control board, and transmits this to each piezoelectric element. Note that the control board 25 arranged in one control device 14 controls the recording operation of the corresponding one head unit 13.

  As will be described later, since the head unit 13 is provided with a plurality of unit heads 36, the information processing amount of the control board 25 for controlling the driving of these units becomes large. Along with this, the amount of heat generated by the control board 25 is also likely to increase. For this reason, the control board 25 of this embodiment is provided with the heat sink 29 (equivalent to the thermal radiation part in this invention) which discharge | releases the generate | occur | produced heat | fever to air | atmosphere as mentioned above. Specifically, heat sinks 29 are provided on both sides of the control board 25 behind the connector 27 of the control board 25. And since the wind is sent to the heat sink 29 by the fan 22 mentioned above, the malfunction by the control board 25 generating heat | fever can be suppressed.

  The board fixing member 26 is a plate member made of metal such as SUS that supports the control board 25 from one side, and can shield noise such as electromagnetic waves to the control board 25. Positioning wall portions 30 stand on the control substrate 25 side at the lower and upper ends of the rear end portion of the substrate fixing member 26. The positioning wall portion 30 extends in the width direction (parallel direction) of the control device 14, and the width of the control device 14 is defined by the positioning wall portion 30. The width of the positioning wall portion 30 is aligned with the interval between the wall portions 23 ′ of the positioning member 23. Thereby, when fixing the control apparatus 14 to the control apparatus fixing | fixed part 17, the positioning wall part 30 fits with the positioning member 23, and the position of the width direction of the control apparatus 14 is determined. In addition, a fixing portion 31 formed integrally with the substrate fixing member 26 is provided at the front end of the control device 14. The fixing portion 31 protrudes up and down in the height direction at the front end of the control device 14, and the height thereof is larger than the height of each stepped portion 19, 20 (interval between the beam portions 21 in the height direction). It has become. As a result, when the control board 25 is slid from the rear end side to the inside of the step portions 19 and 20 of the control device fixing portion 17 and assembled, the upper and lower ends of the fixing portion 31 abut against the upper and lower beam portions 21. Thus, the position is regulated so as not to slide further. In addition, screw holes 31 a are provided at the upper and lower ends of the fixing portion 31, and the fixing portion 31 is fixed to the beam portion 21 with screws or the like in a state where the fixing portion 31 is in contact with the beam portion 21. As a result, the control device 14 is fixed to the control device fixing portion 17.

  Next, the head unit fixing part 16 will be described. The head unit fixing part 16 is a part constituting the lower part of the frame 15 that overlaps below the control device fixing part 17. As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of guide walls 33 are juxtaposed in the head unit fixing portion 16 along the direction in which the head units 13 are juxtaposed. The guide wall 33 of the present embodiment stands vertically from the bottom plate 34 of the head unit fixing portion 16, and the height thereof is set to be lower than the height of the head unit 13 fixed to the frame 15. Further, the parallel pitch of the guide walls 33 is aligned with the parallel pitch of the head units 13, and the width in the width direction (parallel direction) between the guide walls 33 adjacent to the head unit 13. It is comprised so that it can arrange | position, determining a position. The bottom plate 34 of the head unit fixing portion 16 is aligned in parallel with the nozzle surface 58 of the head unit 13, and an opening (not shown) for exposing the nozzle surface 58 is provided in a part of the bottom plate 34. .

  Further, slide grooves 35a and 35b that engage with engaging protrusions 39a and 39b (described later) of the head unit 13 are provided on the side surface of the guide wall 33 in the extending direction of the guide wall 33 (parallel to the bottom plate 34). Two strips are formed at different heights along the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the head units 13 are arranged. One slide groove 35a is inclined downward at the rear end portion thereof. Further, the other slide groove 35b is provided at a position lower than the one slide groove 35a described above, and the rear end portion thereof is inclined downwardly toward the front side of the one slide groove 35a. As shown in FIG. 6, the head unit 13 is attached between the adjacent guide walls 33 with the nozzle surface 58 exposed downward. More specifically, in the state where the nozzle surface 58 of the head unit 13 is directed downward (bottom plate 34 side) (that is, the head unit 13 is erected), the engagement is provided on both the left and right sides of the rear end portion of the head unit 13. The mating protrusion 39a is engaged with one (higher) slide groove 35a and is slid from the front side to the back side in the extending direction of the guide wall 33. Thereafter, the engagement protrusions 39b provided on the left and right both sides in the middle of the head unit 13 are engaged with the other (lower) slide groove 35b, and the head unit 13 is slid to the back side. When the head unit 13 slides rearward and moves to a predetermined position, the slide grooves 35a and 35b are descended downward, so that the head unit 13 descends along this inclination. When the head unit 13 moves sufficiently far, the head unit nozzle surface 58 is attached to the head unit fixing portion 16 with the nozzle surface 58 exposed from the bottom plate 34.

  Next, the head unit 13 will be described. 7 and 8 are perspective views as seen from the upper surface side (the side opposite to the nozzle surface 58) of the head unit 13, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view as seen from the bottom surface side (the nozzle surface 58 side) of the head unit 13. is there. In FIG. 8, the substrate cover 41 that protects the transmission substrate 38 is removed.

  As shown in FIG. 7 and the like, the head unit 13 includes a plurality of unit heads 36, a holding member 37 that holds the unit heads 36, and a transmission board 38 that transmits a control signal (drive signal) to a piezoelectric element described later. It is a plate-shaped unit provided. As shown in FIG. 9, the head unit 13 of this embodiment includes two rows of eight unit heads 36 arranged side by side with a holding member 37 interposed therebetween. That is, a total of 16 unit heads 36 are provided. As shown in FIG. 9, the unit heads 36 attached to one side of the holding member 37 and the unit heads 36 attached to the other side are alternately arranged in the row direction of the unit heads 36. . That is, the row of the unit heads 36 on one side and the row of the unit heads 36 on the other side are arranged so as to be shifted by a distance that is half the row pitch of the unit heads 36. The unit heads 36 arranged in this way are arranged such that the nozzle surface 58 is exposed at the bottom of the head unit 13. In addition, on one end side (rear end side) of the holding member 37, engagement protrusions 39a that engage with the higher slide groove 35a are provided on both the left and right sides. Engaging protrusions 39b that engage with the lower slide groove 35b are provided on the left and right both sides in the middle of the holding member 37.

  Above the holding member 37 (on the opposite side to the nozzle surface 58), as shown in FIG. 7, the substrate fixing plate 40 for fixing the transmission substrate 38 and the transmission substrate 38 fixed to the substrate fixing plate 40 are fixed to the substrate. A substrate cover 41 that covers from the opposite side of the plate 40 is erected, and the transmission substrate 38 is disposed in an upright state therebetween. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the transmission board 38 includes a connector 43 at one end (front end). One end of the flexible cable 44 is electrically connected to the connector 27. In addition, a plurality of other ends of the head cable 79 whose one end side is connected to the unit head 36 are connected to a portion of the lower end portion of the transmission board 38 facing the unit head 36 according to the unit heads 36 arranged in a row. Yes. Then, the transmission board 38 transmits a control signal sent from the control device 14 to each unit head 36 via the flexible cable 44. The flexible cable 44 has a control device 14 for controlling the head unit 13 directly above each head unit 13, and therefore extends substantially vertically to the upper stage portion 19 as shown in FIG. 2 or 3. The long ones that extend to the lower stage 20 and the short ones that extend substantially vertically are alternately arranged.

  The substrate fixing plate 40 and the substrate cover 41 are made of a metal such as SUS, give rigidity to the head unit 13 and shield noise such as electromagnetic waves to the transmission substrate 38. Note that a connection opening 40a is formed in the portion of the substrate fixing plate 40 where the transmission substrate 38 and the head cable 79 are connected so as not to disturb this connection. Similarly, a connection opening 41a is formed in a portion of the substrate cover 41 where the transmission board 38 and the head cable 79 are connected so as not to disturb this connection. Further, an upper end opening of an ink flow path 45 that supplies ink to each recording head is exposed at an upper portion of the substrate fixing plate 40 (head unit 13). The upper end opening of the ink flow path 45 is liquid-tightly connected to the lower end of an ink supply tube (not shown), and the lower end side is branched and connected to the ink introduction path 75 of each recording head.

  Next, the unit head 36 will be described. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the unit head 36, and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the unit head 36. In FIG. 11, the configuration corresponding to the other nozzle row is omitted because it is symmetrical in the left-right direction with the illustrated one.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the unit head 36 in the present embodiment includes a pressure generating unit 50 and a flow path unit 51, and is configured by being attached to a case 56 in a state where these members are laminated. As shown in FIG. 10, the case 56 includes a through space 74 in which one end of the head cable 79 is accommodated, and two ink introduction paths 75 that protrude upward from the upper surface of the case 56. The flow path unit 51 includes a nozzle plate 52 (a kind of nozzle forming member) in which the nozzles 57 are opened, and a communication substrate 53 (common liquid chamber forming member) provided with a liquid supply flow path 62 that communicates with the ink introduction path 75. A kind of). The pressure generating unit 50 includes a pressure chamber forming substrate 59 (a kind of pressure chamber forming member) on which a pressure chamber 61 is formed, an elastic film 60, a piezoelectric element 65 (corresponding to the pressure generating means in the present invention), and a protective substrate. 54 are stacked to form a unit. Then, ink is introduced into the pressure chamber 61 via the liquid supply flow path 62, and a control signal from the control device 14 is supplied to the piezoelectric element 65 via the flexible cable 44, the transmission board 38, and the head cable 79. Thus, the piezoelectric element 65 is driven to cause a pressure fluctuation in the pressure chamber 61. By utilizing this pressure fluctuation, ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle 57. The lower surface of the nozzle plate 52 corresponds to the nozzle surface 58.

  As described above, the frame 15 of the recording head 3 according to the present invention includes the head unit fixing portion 16 in which the head unit 13 is juxtaposed with the nozzle surface 58 exposed, and the nozzle surface 58 with respect to the head unit fixing portion 16. , And a control device fixing portion 17 that arranges the control devices 14 in parallel along the direction in which the head units 13 are arranged, and the control device fixing portion 17 has stepped portions 19 and 20 that overlap in two stages. In the juxtaposed direction, the control devices respectively corresponding to the head units 13 adjacent in the head unit fixing portion 16 are arranged in different step portions 19 and 20 in the control device fixing portion 17, so that The width of the device 14 (thickness in the juxtaposed direction of the control device 14) is thicker than the width of the head unit 13 (thickness in the juxtaposed direction of the head units 13). Even if it is possible to align the juxtaposed controller 14 overall width, in as small as possible juxtaposed head unit 13 the total width. As a result, the recording head can be reduced in size.

  By the way, in said embodiment, although the control apparatus fixing | fixed part 17 was comprised in two steps, the upper step part 19 and the lower step part 20, it is not restricted to this. For example, the step portion may be configured to overlap three or more steps. In short, the control device fixing unit may be composed of at least two or more step units, and the control devices corresponding to the head units adjacent to each other in the head unit fixing unit may be arranged in different step units. In the above-described embodiment, the so-called flexural vibration type piezoelectric element 65 is exemplified as the pressure generating means. However, the pressure generation unit is not limited thereto, and for example, a so-called longitudinal vibration type piezoelectric element or a heating element may be employed. It is.

  In the above-described embodiment, the ink jet recording head mounted on the ink jet printer is exemplified, but the present invention can also be applied to a liquid ejecting liquid other than ink. For example, a color material ejecting head used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, an electrode material ejecting head used for forming an electrode such as an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, FED (surface emitting display), a biochip (biochemical element) The present invention can also be applied to bioorganic matter ejecting heads and the like used in the production of

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer, 2 ... Recording medium, 3 ... Recording head, 4 ... Carriage, 13 ... Head unit, 14 ... Control apparatus, 15 ... Frame, 16 ... Head unit fixing part, 17 ... Control apparatus fixing part, 19 ... Upper stage part , 20 ... Lower stage part, 21 ... Beam part, 22 ... Fan, 23 ... Positioning member, 24 ... Through hole, 25 ... Control board, 26 ... Board fixing member, 27 ... Connector, 28 ... LAN connector, 29 ... Heat sink, 30 ... Positioning wall part, 31 ... Fixing part, 33 ... Guide wall, 34 ... Bottom plate, 35 ... Slide groove, 36 ... Unit head, 37 ... Holding member, 38 ... Transmission substrate, 39 ... Engaging projection, 40 ... Substrate fixing plate , 41 ... Substrate cover, 44 ... Flexible cable, 45 ... Ink flow path, 50 ... Pressure generating unit, 51 ... Flow path unit, 52 ... Nozzle plate, 56 ... Case, 57 ... Nozzle, 58 ... nozzle surface, 61 ... pressure chambers, 65 ... piezoelectric element, 79 ... head cable

Claims (6)

A head unit in which a plurality of unit heads for ejecting liquid from nozzles formed on the nozzle surface are generated by driving pressure generating means to cause pressure fluctuation in the pressure chamber;
A control device for transmitting a control signal for controlling the driving of the pressure generating means to the head unit side;
A frame for fixing a plurality of the head unit and the control device corresponding to the head unit;
A liquid jet head comprising:
The frame overlaps the head unit fixing portion that juxtaposes the head units with the nozzle surface exposed, and overlaps the head unit fixing portion on the side opposite to the nozzle surface, and in the direction in which the head units are juxtaposed A control device fixing portion that juxtaposes the control devices along,
The control device fixing part is composed of at least two steps.
In the juxtaposed direction, the control devices respectively corresponding to the head units adjacent to each other in the head unit fixing portion are arranged at different step portions in the control device fixing portion.   The liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the control device in the juxtaposed direction is greater than a thickness of the head unit in the juxtaposed direction. The head unit includes a transmission board that transmits the control signal to the pressure generating means,
The transmission board and the control device are electrically connected by wiring members,
The liquid jet head according to claim 1, wherein the wiring members are arranged without intersecting each other. The control device includes a heat radiating part that releases heat into the atmosphere,
The control device fixing portion has a through hole at a position corresponding to the heat radiating portion of the bottom surface portion,
4. The liquid ejecting head according to claim 1, wherein a blowing unit that sends air to the control device side through the through hole is disposed facing the through hole. 5. The control device fixing portion includes a pair of positioning members that can be positioned by sandwiching each control device from both sides in the step direction of the step portion, and the plurality of step portions,
The liquid ejecting head according to claim 4, wherein the through hole is provided at a position facing each of the air blowing means in each positioning member.   A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising the liquid ejecting head according to claim 1.

Images